Monday, January 2, 2012

Friday, December 2, 2011

Recently we read "The Crucible", a play written in the late 1940's about the Salem Witch trials. It was a horrifying part of American history that I was facinated by. Something that was extremely interesting to me was that even though the judges had a petition with signatures of 91, upstanding, land owning adults they still listened to the "afflicted children". I found myself asking myself - "What would I have done if I had been there?"

Now you are saying to yourself why do I care about this?

This is why you should care - your ancestors were there ... and they signed the petition for John and Elizabeth Proctor, asserting that they were former neighbors of the Proctors in Ipswich, Mass. and they knew them to be good people. They signed this even though they were risking being arrested and with the accusatory air of the times, could've ended up being accused of consorting with the devil themselves.

The one I have been able to track down thus far is William Andrews, born in 1658 in Ipswich, Mass.

This line goes back through the Sperry side, through Hannah Libby Knight Carter on her mother's side.

We also watched a recent filmed version of this play - with Daniel Day Lewis in it. We did watch it on clearplay which did edit out a few parts - notably the scene with the girls in the woods. It was a very compelling performance. Mary and Joseph watched something else upstairs - about sled dogs I think.

In a saucepan stir together the water, the rhubarb, the sugar, two strips of the zest, and the vanilla. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the strawberries and boil the mixture, covered, for 2 minutes. Let the mixture cool and strain it through a coarse sieve over a pitcher, pressing hard on the solids. Stir in the remaining 1 cup strawberries and the lemon juice. Chill and serve. Garnish with lemon zest if desired.

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